"They only heard the report: 'The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.' And they praised God because of me." (NIV)
Although the Jews/Christians in the churches of Judea did not know who the convert in the reports was, they openly rejoiced and praised God that a former opponent was now a fierce ally. It didn't matter who the convert was; it only mattered that God had turned him onto the right path. And the members of the Judean churches did not merely rejoice that they were safe, but they also thanked and praised God for His awesome works that could not have been done by anything but a miracle.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Galatians 1:21-22
"Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ." (NIV)
"Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ." (ESV)
The wording of the ESV here makes this passage more understandable to me. Previously, Paul had been on a mission to eradicate Christians. But the churches in Judea had never personally experienced Saul's persecution, and they didn't know who Paul was—"the man who formerly persecuted us... now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy" (v.23). The story of Paul was kept quiet in Jewish territory, while he moved on to Gentile territory to preach. Again we see how God uses the Gentiles to share the gospel with the Jews (see the reference to Mark 5 in the notes on Galatians 1:20).
"Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ." (ESV)
The wording of the ESV here makes this passage more understandable to me. Previously, Paul had been on a mission to eradicate Christians. But the churches in Judea had never personally experienced Saul's persecution, and they didn't know who Paul was—"the man who formerly persecuted us... now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy" (v.23). The story of Paul was kept quiet in Jewish territory, while he moved on to Gentile territory to preach. Again we see how God uses the Gentiles to share the gospel with the Jews (see the reference to Mark 5 in the notes on Galatians 1:20).
Galatians 1:20
"I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie." (NIV)
While going through Mark at church this semester, an interesting point was brought up on the message in Chapter 5: Jews don't keep pigs because they are considered unclean; so the pigs that Legion (the demon(s)) goes into indicates that Jesus has moved into Gentile territory. Up until this point, Jesus has told everyone not to tell anyone what He had done for them; but when He casts out Legion, He tells the formerly possessed Gentile to go and tell everyone. So the man tells everyone in the Decapolis, the Ten Cities. One man told ten cities about Jesus. So when Paul came back to Gentile territory preaching the name of Jesus, this was not unfamiliar news to them. They had the evidence of the demoniac to support the truth of Paul's gospel, and Paul knew it. Paul's message to the Galatians was true, and they knew they could not argue.
While going through Mark at church this semester, an interesting point was brought up on the message in Chapter 5: Jews don't keep pigs because they are considered unclean; so the pigs that Legion (the demon(s)) goes into indicates that Jesus has moved into Gentile territory. Up until this point, Jesus has told everyone not to tell anyone what He had done for them; but when He casts out Legion, He tells the formerly possessed Gentile to go and tell everyone. So the man tells everyone in the Decapolis, the Ten Cities. One man told ten cities about Jesus. So when Paul came back to Gentile territory preaching the name of Jesus, this was not unfamiliar news to them. They had the evidence of the demoniac to support the truth of Paul's gospel, and Paul knew it. Paul's message to the Galatians was true, and they knew they could not argue.
Galatians 1:19
"I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother." (NIV)
This verse is interesting to me, especially when paired with Galatians 2:11-21. In Chapter 2, Paul tells of his dispute with Peter on the issue of circumcision, and he briefly states that "certain men... from James" had initiated the conflict. But here in Chapter 1, Paul makes no mention of any conflict between James and himself. This makes it sound like the conflict came directly from James' men, not James himself. If the issue had come from James' message, Paul would have mentioned it. But when he says that the only apostles he spoke with were Peter and James, it sounds like James' message matched up pretty well with Peter's and his (Paul's) own. This also clears up the debate about the contradiction between James' letter and those of Paul's: the idea of salvation by faith is not contradicted by James' message of works supporting faith. If their views had clashed, Paul would have said so.
This verse is interesting to me, especially when paired with Galatians 2:11-21. In Chapter 2, Paul tells of his dispute with Peter on the issue of circumcision, and he briefly states that "certain men... from James" had initiated the conflict. But here in Chapter 1, Paul makes no mention of any conflict between James and himself. This makes it sound like the conflict came directly from James' men, not James himself. If the issue had come from James' message, Paul would have mentioned it. But when he says that the only apostles he spoke with were Peter and James, it sounds like James' message matched up pretty well with Peter's and his (Paul's) own. This also clears up the debate about the contradiction between James' letter and those of Paul's: the idea of salvation by faith is not contradicted by James' message of works supporting faith. If their views had clashed, Paul would have said so.
Galatians 1:18
"Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days." (NIV)
Paul didn't return to discuss the gospel until he had had sufficient time to analyze the scriptures and develop his own theology under God's influence. After he had determined for himself that the message of Christ was true, then he went to the disciples to present his knowledge of the gospel to them and match it up against their message. When he was sure that the gospel he had received was exactly the message God had intended, he immediately began preaching alongside the other apostles (Acts 9:19b-20). Paul realized that fellowship is necessary in order to keep one another in line with the message being preached (shown later in Galatians 2), and he wanted to be positive that the apostles' message was the same God-given news he had received. He spent fifteen days with the apostles, learning their interpretations of the gospel and hearing their eyewitness accounts of Jesus' life.
The proportion of time Paul spent meditating on the scriptures, on his own and with his brothers in Christ, is a good model of what our time with the Lord should be like. Paul spent three years alone with God, then spent fifteen days with the apostles. Similarly, while we spend Sunday (and in my case, Monday and Wednesday) hearing someone else preach, we should spend the rest of our time in the Word on our own. We, like the Bereans, should be so familiar with the scriptures that we can immediately dispute anything that is contrary to the Bible. That way if something comes up in church that does not agree with scriptures, we can dismiss it as faulty human interpretation and not something from God. And in the same way, if a new interpretation comes up that stands the test of the gospel, we can praise God for His consistency and His amazing vastness that allows us to continually learn more about Him without growing bored.
Paul didn't return to discuss the gospel until he had had sufficient time to analyze the scriptures and develop his own theology under God's influence. After he had determined for himself that the message of Christ was true, then he went to the disciples to present his knowledge of the gospel to them and match it up against their message. When he was sure that the gospel he had received was exactly the message God had intended, he immediately began preaching alongside the other apostles (Acts 9:19b-20). Paul realized that fellowship is necessary in order to keep one another in line with the message being preached (shown later in Galatians 2), and he wanted to be positive that the apostles' message was the same God-given news he had received. He spent fifteen days with the apostles, learning their interpretations of the gospel and hearing their eyewitness accounts of Jesus' life.
The proportion of time Paul spent meditating on the scriptures, on his own and with his brothers in Christ, is a good model of what our time with the Lord should be like. Paul spent three years alone with God, then spent fifteen days with the apostles. Similarly, while we spend Sunday (and in my case, Monday and Wednesday) hearing someone else preach, we should spend the rest of our time in the Word on our own. We, like the Bereans, should be so familiar with the scriptures that we can immediately dispute anything that is contrary to the Bible. That way if something comes up in church that does not agree with scriptures, we can dismiss it as faulty human interpretation and not something from God. And in the same way, if a new interpretation comes up that stands the test of the gospel, we can praise God for His consistency and His amazing vastness that allows us to continually learn more about Him without growing bored.
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